Ka'aba
Location	Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Branch/tradition	Islam
Architectural information

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The Picture of Masjid al-Haram and Kaaba.

The Kaaba (or Qaaba; Arabic: الكعبة‎ al-Kaʿbah IPA: [ʔælˈkæʕbɐ]; English: The Cube)^[1] is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam.^[2] The Quran states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic), and his son Ishmael (Ismaeel in Arabic), after the latter had settled in Arabia.^[3] The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. This is called facing the Qiblah.

One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if able to do so. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to walk seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed from above). This circumambulation, the Tawaf, is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).^[2] However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when about 6 million pilgrims gather to circle the building on the same day.^[4][5]

Location and physical attributes[link]

The Kaaba is located at 21°25′21.15″N 39°49′34.1″E / 21.4225417°N 39.826139°E / 21.4225417; 39.826139Coordinates: 21°25′21.15″N 39°49′34.1″E / 21.4225417°N 39.826139°E / 21.4225417; 39.826139 (Also Lat=21.4224945 N and Lon=39.8262013 E) inside the Masjid al-Ḥarām (A.: المسجد الحرام‎, the "Sacred Mosque") mosque in the center of Mecca (A.: كة‎ Makkah). A large masonry structure in the shape of a cuboid, it is made of granite quarried from nearby hills. Standing upon a 25 cm (10 in) marble base that projects outwards about 35 cm (14 in),^[2] it is approximately 13.1 m (43 ft) high, with sides measuring 11.03 m (36.2 ft) by 12.86 m (42.2 ft).^[6][7].

Al-Ħajaru l-Aswad, "the Black Stone", is located in the Kaaba's eastern corner. Its northern corner is known as the Ruknu l-ˤĪrāqī, "the Iraqi corner", its western as the Ruknu sh-Shāmī, "the Levantine corner", and its southern as Ruknu l-Yamanī "the Yemeni corner".^[2][7] The four corners of the Kaaba roughly point toward the four cardinal directions of the compass.^[2] Its major (long) axis is aligned with the rising of the star Canopus toward which its southern wall is directed, while its minor axis (its east-west facades) roughly align with the sunrise of summer solstice and the sunset of winter solstice.^[8][9]

Technical drawing of the Kaaba showing dimensions and elements

The Kaaba is covered by a black silk and gold curtain known as the kiswah, which is replaced annually during the Hajj pilgrimage.^[10][11] Two-thirds of the way up is a band of gold embroidered Quranic text, including the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith.

In modern times, entry to the Kaaba's interior is only permitted on rare occasions for a small number of guests. The entrance is a door set 2 m (7 ft) above the ground on the north-eastern wall of the Kaaba, which acts as the façade.^[2] In 1979 the 300 kg gold doors made by chief artist Ahmad bin Ibrahim Badr, replaced the old silver doors made by his father, Ibrahim Badr in 1942.^[12] There is a wooden staircase on wheels, usually stored in the mosque between the arch-shaped gate of Banū Shaybah and the Zamzam Well. Inside the Kaaba, the floor is made of marble and limestone. The interior walls are clad with marble halfway to the roof; The marble is inset with Quranic inscriptions. The wall directly adjacent to the entrance of the Kaaba has six tablets inlaid with inscriptions. The top part of the walls are covered with a green cloth embroidered with gold Quranic verses. Caretakers anoint the marble cladding with scented oil used on the Black Stone outside. Three pillars stand inside the Kaaba, with a small altar set between one and the other two. Lamp-like objects (possible crucible censers) hang by a rope above the platform.

There is also a semi-circular wall opposite, but not connected to, the north-west wall of the Kaaba known as the hatīm. This is 90 cm (35 in) in height and 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in width, and is composed of white marble. At one time the space lying between the hatīm and the Kaaba belonged to the Kaaba itself, and for this reason it is not entered during the tawaf. Some believe that the graves of Ishmael and his mother Hagar^[2] are located in this space.

Muslims throughout the world face the Kaaba during prayers, which they perform five times a day. For most places around the world, coordinates for Mecca suffice. Worshippers in the Masjid al-Haram pray in Concentric circles around the Kaaba.

Diagram[link]

Drawing of the Kaaba. See key at left for details

Each numbered item in the following list corresponds to features called out in the diagram image.

1. Black Stone on the south-east corner.
2. Entry door, on the East wall 2.13 metres above ground level. It is accessed using a set of portable steps.
3. Rainwater spout made of gold. This was added in the rebuilding of 1627 after the previous year's rain caused three of the four walls to collapse.
4. Gutter, also added in 1627 to protect the foundation from groundwater.
5. Hatim, a low wall originally part of the Kaaba. Pilgrims do not walk in the area between this wall and the Kaaba. Some believe this area contains the graves of Hajar and Ismail.
6. Al-Multazam, the part of the wall between the Black Stone and the entry door.
7. Station of Abraham, a glass and metal enclosure with what is said to be an imprint of Abraham's foot. Abraham is said to have stood on this stone during the construction of the upper parts of the Kaaba, raising Ishmael on his shoulders for the uppermost parts.^[13]
8. Corner of the Black Stone (South-East).
9. Corner of Yemen (South-West). Pilgrims traditionally acknowledge a large vertical stone that forms this corner.
10. Corner of Syria (North-West).
11. Corner of Iraq (North-East).
12. Kiswa, the embroidered covering, replaced annually.
13. Marble stripe marking the beginning and end of each circumperambulation.
14. Post of Mohammed Azzaam Ekkeri.^[14]

Black Stone[link]

The Black Stone is a significant feature of the Kaaba, stated by Muslims to have been placed there by Abraham and Ishmael, a stone from paradise sent by the angels to Abraham.^[15] Located at the eastern corner of the Kaaba, it is about 30 cm (12 in) in diameter and surrounded by a silver frame. Although not strictly obligatory, pilgrims can kiss the Stone, as Muhammad is said to have done. Islamic sources do not consider kissing the Black Stone to be idolatry.^[16] The following passage gives an insight into the significance of the Black Stone in Islam:

Narrated 'Abis bin Rabia: Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said, "No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen God's Apostle kissing you, I would not have kissed you."

—al-Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Ismail,  Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 26, Number 667.

Large crowds can make kissing the Stone impossible, so as pilgrims walk round the Kaaba they point to the Stone on each pass.^[17]

In the Quran[link]

The Kaaba is inside the Masjid al Haram in Mecca

The Quran states that Abraham, together with Ishmael, raised the foundations of the holy house.^{[Quran 2:127]} God had shown Abraham the exact site, very near to the Well of Zamzam, where Abraham and Ishmael began work on the Kaaba's construction. ^[18] After Abraham had built the Kaaba, an angel brought to him the Black Stone, a celestial stone that, according to tradition, had fallen from Heaven on the nearby hill Abu Qubays.^[19] According to a saying attributed to Muhammad, the Black Stone had "descended from Paradise whiter than milk but the sins of the sons of Adam had made it black".^[20]

After the placing of the Black Stone (in Arabic, الحجر الا سود — "alhajar alaswad") in the Eastern corner of the Kaaba, Abraham received a revelation, in which God told the aged prophet that he should now go and proclaim the pilgrimage to mankind, so that men may come both from Arabia and from lands far away, on camel and on foot.^{[Quran 22:27]} Going by the dates attributed to the patriarchs, Abraham is believed to have been born in roughly 2150 BCE, with Isaac being born a hundred years later.^[19] Therefore, Islamic scholars have generally assumed that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham around 2130 BCE. The Kaaba is, therefore, believed by Muslims to be more than a millennium older than Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, which is believed to have been finished in 1007 BCE.^[19] These dates remain consistent with the Muslim belief that the Kaaba is the first and thus oldest mosque in history.^[19]

After Abraham and Ishmael[link]

The pilgrimage, as established by Abraham, is believed to have been uncorrupted in its early years. Then the faith of Abraham failed to grip very many devoted followers. It was because "it presupposed too much initial spirituality in its adherents to grip a large community".^[21] Although there were always a few people who continued to maintain Abraham's teachings, this minority gradually came to have less power in Mecca, and soon the Kaaba became a shrine devoted to idols.^[21]

Qibla and prayer[link]

The Qibla is the Muslim name for the direction faced during prayer.^{[Quran 2:143–144]} It is the focal point for prayer.The direction faced during prayer is the direction of where the Kaaba is.

Before Muhammad[link]

The early Arabian population consisted primarily of warring nomadic tribes. When they did converge peacefully, it was usually under the protection of religious practices.^[22] Writing in the Encyclopedia of Islam, Wensinck identifies Mecca with a place called Macoraba mentioned by Ptolemy. His text is believed to date from the second century AD, about 500 years before the coming of Muhammad,^[23] and described it as a foundation in southern Arabia, built around a sanctuary. It probably did not become an area of religious pilgrimage until around 500 A.D. It was then that the Quraysh tribe (into which Muhammad was later born) took control of Macoraba, and made an agreement with the local kinanah Bedouins for possession.^[24] The sanctuary itself, located in a barren valley surrounded by mountains, was probably built at the location of the water source today known as the Zamzam Well, an area of considerable religious significance to Muslims.

In her book, Islam: A Short History, Karen Armstrong asserts that the Kaaba was dedicated to Hubal, a Nabatean deity, and contained 360 idols that either represented the days of the year,^[25] or were effigies of the Arabian pantheon. Once a year, tribes from all around the Arabian peninsula, whether Christian or pagan, would converge on Mecca to perform the Hajj.

Imoti^[26] contends that there were multiple such "Kaaba" sanctuaries in Arabia at one time, but this was the only one built of stone. The others also allegedly had counterparts of the Black Stone. There was a "red stone", the deity of the south Arabian city of Ghaiman, and the "white stone" in the Kaaba of al-Abalat (near the city of Tabala, south of Mecca). Grunebaum in Classical Islam points out that the experience of divinity of that period was often associated with stone fetishes, mountains, special rock formations, or "trees of strange growth."^[27] The Kaaba was thought to be at the center of the world with the Gate of Heaven directly above it. The Kaaba marked the location where the sacred world intersected with the profane, and the embedded Black Stone was a further symbol of this as a meteorite that had fallen from the sky and linked heaven and earth.^[28]

According to Sarwar,^[29] about 400 years before the birth of Muhammad, a man named "Amr bin Lahyo bin Harath bin Amr ul-Qais bin Thalaba bin Azd bin Khalan bin Babalyun bin Saba", who was descended from Qahtan and king of Hijaz (the northwestern section of Saudi Arabia, which encompassed the cities of Mecca and Medina), had placed a Hubal idol onto the roof of the Kaaba, and this idol was one of the chief deities of the ruling Quraysh. The idol was made of red agate, and shaped like a human, but with the right hand broken off and replaced with a golden hand. When the idol was moved inside the Kaaba, it had seven arrows in front of it, which were used for divination.^{[citation needed]}

To maintain peace among the perpetually warring tribes, Mecca was declared a sanctuary where no violence was allowed within 20 miles (32 km) of the Kaaba. This combat-free zone allowed Mecca to thrive not only as a place of pilgrimage, but also as a trading center.^[30]

Edward Gibbon suggested that the Ka'bah was mentioned by ancient Greek writer Diodorus Siculus before the Christian era:

The genuine antiquity of Caaba ascends beyond the Christian era: in describing the coast of the Red sea the Greek historian Diodorus has remarked, between the Thamudites and the Sabeans, a famous temple, whose superior sanctity was revered by all the Arabians; the linen of silken veil, which is annually renewed by the Turkish emperor, was first offered by the Homerites, who reigned seven hundred years before the time of Mohammad.

—Edward Gibbon,  Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, Volume V, pp. 223–224

However, Gibbon had misinterpreted Siculus's text. Siculus described the location of this temple to be on a bay that extends deep in land to a distance of about 500 stades (about 80 km) and that the entrance of this bay is obstructed by a rock extending into the sea. Here is the description from Diodorus Siculus:

Next after these plains as one skirts the coast comes a gulf of extraordinary nature. It runs, namely, to a point deep into the land, extends in length a distance of some five hundred stades, and shut in as it is by crags which are of wondrous size, its mouth is winding and hard to get out of; for a rock which extends into the sea obstructs its entrance and so it is impossible for a ship either to sail into or out of the gulf. Furthermore, at times when the current rushes in and there are frequent shiftings of the winds, the surf, beating upon the rocky beach, roars and rages all about the projecting rock. The inhabitants of the land about the gulf, who are known as Banizomenes, find their food by hunting the land animals and eating their meat. And a temple has been set up there, which is very holy and exceedingly revered by all Arabians.

—Diodorus Siculus,  Bibliotheca Historica volume iii.44, p. 217

There is no bay that matches this description along the coast near Mecca. Furthermore, Siculus describes this area as lying between the Thamudites and the Nabataeans, not the Thamudites and the Sabeans as Gibbon erroneously stated, which would put it much farther to the north, around the area of Tabuk. It is widely believed that this bay and temple described by Diodorus is in fact the bay adjacent to Ash-Sharmah in Tabuk Province.^[31]

In Makkan Trade and the Rise of Islam, Patricia Crone argues that the identification of Macoraba with Mecca is false, and that Macoraba was a town in southern Arabia in what was then known as Arabia Felix.^[32]

Crone was responded to by Dr. Amaal Muhammad Al-Roubi in his book "A Response to Patrica Crone's book".^[33][34]

G. E. von Grunebaum says,

Mecca is mentioned by Ptolemy, and the name he gives it allows us to identify it as a South Arabian foundation created around a sanctuary.

—G. E. Von Grunebaum,  Classical Islam: A History 600-1258, p. 19

Many Muslim and academic historians stress the power and importance of the pre-Islamic Mecca. They depict it as a city grown rich on the proceeds of the spice trade. Crone believes that this is an exaggeration and that Mecca may only have been an outpost trading with nomads for leather, cloth, and camel butter. Crone argues that if Mecca had been a well-known center of trade, it would have been mentioned by later authors such as Procopius, Nonnosus, and the Syrian church chroniclers writing in Syriac. However, the town is absent from any geographies or histories written in the three centuries before the rise of Islam.^[35]

According to The Encyclopædia Britannica, "before the rise of Islam it was revered as a sacred sanctuary and was a site of pilgrimage."^[36] According to German historian Eduard Glaser, the name "Kaaba" may have been related to the southern Arabian or Ethiopian word "mikrab", signifying a temple.^[23] Again, Crone disputes this etymology.

Muhammad[link]

A 1315 illustration from the Persian Jami al-Tawarikh, inspired by the story of Muhammad and the Meccan clan elders lifting the Black Stone into place when the Kaaba was rebuilt in the early 600s^[37]

At the time of Muhammad (CE 570–632 A.D), his tribe, the Quraysh, was in charge of the Kaaba, which was at that time a shrine containing hundreds of idols representing Arabian tribal gods and other religious figures. Muhammad earned the enmity of his tribe by claiming the Kaaba to be dedicated to the worship of the one God alone, and all the idols evicted. The Quraysh persecuted and harassed him continuously,^{[citation needed]} and he and his followers eventually migrated to Medina in 622.

Islamic histories also mention a reconstruction of the Kaaba around 600 A.D. A story found in Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasūl Allāh, one of the biographies of Muhammad (as reconstructed and translated by Guillaume), describes Muhammad settling a quarrel between Meccan clans as to which clan should set the Black Stone cornerstone in place. According to Ishaq's biography, Muhammad's solution was to have all the clan elders raise the cornerstone on a cloak, and then Muhammad set the stone into its final place with his own hands.^[38][39] Ibn Ishaq says that the timber for the reconstruction of the Kaaba came from a Greek ship that had been wrecked on the Red Sea coast at Shu'ayba, and the work was undertaken by a Coptic carpenter called Baqum.^[40]

After this migration, or Hijra, the Muslim community became a political and military force, continuously repelling Meccan attacks. In 630 A.D, two years after signing the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Meccan Quraysh attacked the Bedouin Khuza'a, thereby breaking the peace treaty. The Muslims emerged as victors in the battle that followed this incident and Muhammad entered Mecca with his followers; they proceeded to the Kaaba. However, he refused to enter the Kaaba while there were idols in it, and sent Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and Mughira ibn Shu'ba to remove them.^[41][42][43]

Narrated Ibn Abbas: When Allah's Apostle arrived in Mecca, he refused to enter the Ka'ba while there were idols in it. So he ordered that they be taken out. The pictures of the (Prophets) Abraham and Ishmael, holding arrows of divination in their hands, were carried out. The Prophet said, "May Allah ruin them (i.e. the infidels) for they knew very well that they (i.e. Abraham and Ishmael) never drew lots by these (divination arrows). Then the Prophet entered the Ka'ba and said. "Allahu Akbar" in all its directions and came out and not offer any prayer therein.

—Sahih Al-Bukhari,  Book 59, Hadith 584

The Kaaba was re-dedicated as an Islamic house of worship, and henceforth, the annual pilgrimage was to be a Muslim rite, the Hajj, with visits to the Kaaba and other sacred sites around Mecca.^[44]

It is also the birth place of ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib, the fourth caliph and cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^[44]

In Islamic history[link]

The Kaaba has been repaired and reconstructed many times since Muhammad's day. Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr, an early Muslim who ruled Mecca for many years between the death of ʿAli and the consolidation of Ummayad power, is said to have demolished the old Kaaba and rebuilt it to include the hatīm.^[45] He did so on the basis of a tradition (found in several hadith collections^[46]) that the hatīm was a remnant of the foundations of the Abrahamic Kaaba, and that Muhammad himself had wished to rebuild so as to include it.

This structure was destroyed (or partially destroyed) in 683 A.D, during the war between Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and Umayyad forces commanded by Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef. Al-Hajjaj used stone-throwing catapults against the Meccans.

The Ummayads under ʿAbdu l-Malik ibn Marwan finally reunited all the former Islamic possessions and ended the long civil war. In 693 A.D he had the remnants of al-Zubayr's Kaaba razed, and rebuilt on the foundations set by the Quraysh.^[47] The Kaaba returned to the cube shape it had taken during Muhammad's time.

During the Hajj of 930 A.D, the Qarmatians attacked Mecca, defiled the Zamzam Well with the bodies of pilgrims and stole the Black Stone, taking it to the oasis region of Eastern Arabia known as al-Aḥsāʾ, where it remained until the Abbasids ransomed it in 952 A.D.

Apart from repair work, the basic shape and structure of the Kaaba have not changed since then.^[48]

The Kaaba is depicted on the reverse of 500 Saudi Riyal, and the 2000 Iranian rial banknotes.^[49]

Cleaning[link]

The site of Kaaba in 1880

The Kaaba during Hajj

The building is opened twice a year for a ceremony known as "the cleaning of the Ka'ba." This ceremony takes place roughly thirty days before the start of the month of Ramadan and thirty days before the start of Hajj.

The keys to the Ka'ba are held by the Banī Shayba (بني شيبة) tribe. Members of the tribe greet visitors to the inside of the Kaaba on the occasion of the cleaning ceremony. A small number of dignitaries and foreign diplomats are invited to participate in the ceremony.^[50] The governor of Mecca leads the honoured guests who ritually clean the structure, using simple brooms. Washing of the Ka'ba is done with a mixture of water from the Zamzam Well and Persian rosewater.^[51]

See also[link]

• Mecca
• Hajj
• Qibla

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Peterson, Andrew (1997). Dictionary of Islamic Architecture London: Routledge.
• Hawting, G.R; Ka`ba. Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an
• Elliott, Jeri (1992). Your Door to Arabia. ISBN 0-473-01546-3.
• Mohamed, Mamdouh N. (1996). Hajj to Umrah: From A to Z. Amana Publications. ISBN 0-915957-54-X.
• Wensinck, A. J; Ka`ba. Encyclopaedia of Islam IV
• Karen Armstrong (2000,2002). Islam: A Short History. ISBN 0-8129-6618-X.
• Crone, Patricia (2004). Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam. Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias.
• [1915] The Book of History, a History of All Nations From the Earliest Times to the Present, Viscount Bryce (Introduction), The Grolier Society.
• Guillaume, A. (1955). The Life of Muhammad. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Grunebaum, G. E. von (1970). Classical Islam: A History 600 A.D – 1258 A.D.. Aldine Publishing Company. ISBN 202-15016-X. 

External links[link]

	Islam portal
	Saudi Arabia portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kaaba

Adnan Oktar
Born	Adnan Oktar 1956 (age 55–56) Ankara, Turkey
Residence	Turkey
Other names	Harun Yahya, Adnan Hoca
Occupation	Author
Known for	Islamic creationism, Anti-Zionism, Anti-Masonry
Religion	Sunni Muslim
Website
www.harunyahya.com

Adnan Oktar (born 1956), also known as Harun Yahya,^[1] is an author and Islamic creationist.^[2] In 2007, he sent thousands of unsolicited copies of his book, Atlas of Creation^[3], which advocates Islamic creationism, to American scientists, members of Congress, and science museums.^[4] Oktar runs two organizations of which he is also the Honorary President: Bilim Araştırma Vakfı ("Science Research Foundation", BAV, established 1990), which promotes creationism and Milli Değerleri Koruma Vakfı ("Foundation to Protect National Values", established 1995) which claimed to promote Turkish nationalism.^[5] In the last two decades, Oktar has been involved in a number of legal cases, both as defendant and plaintiff.

Biography[link]

Adnan Oktar was born in Ankara, Turkey, in 1956. He grew up in Ankara, and lived there through his high school years where he studied the works of Islamic scholars like Said Nursi,^[6][7] a Muslim Kurdish scholar who wrote Risale-i Nur, an extensive Qur'anic commentary which includes a comprehensive political and religious ideology.^[8]

In 1979, Adnan Oktar came to Istanbul and entered Mimar Sinan University.^[9] These years were marked with violence and repression which led to the installation of a military junta following the coup of September 1980. The environment in Turkey was one of political and cultural instability, threatened by Cold War politics, and a clash between Kemalist secular modernisers and a rising tide of Islamic militancy.^[7] In this environment he regularly went to the Molla Mosque in Fındıklı locality, close to the academy of fine arts where he studied interior architecture,^[10][11] to pray regardless of threats.^[9] Edip Yuksel, who knew him during those years, described him as a "Sunni zealot."^[6]

In the early 1980s, he gathered young students around him to share his views of Islam. These students belonged to socially-active and prosperous families of Istanbul.^[6] From 1982 to 1984, a group of 20 to 30 was formed. They were joined by private high school students who were from socially active and well-known families with a high economic status who had become newly religious.^[9] Edip Yüksel said he presented his teachings "gently and in a modern fashion to the children of the privileged class, without intimidating them... a refined and urbanized version of Said Nursi."^[6]

In his religious teachings, he argued against Marxism, communism and materialistic philosophy. He attached special importance to refuting the Theory of Evolution and Darwinism^[12] because he felt that it had been turned into an ideology used to promote materialism and atheism, and numerous derivative ideologies. He personally funded a pamphlet entitled the Theory of Evolution^[9] which combined "mysticism with scientific rhetoric."^[6][7]

In 1986 he enrolled in the Philosophy Department of Istanbul University. Adnan Oktar appeared as the cover story of Nokta (The Point) magazine, reporting how he gathered with his friends and held lectures in a mosque. Many university students, mostly from Bosphorus University, one of the most prestigious universities of Turkey, started to participate. Adnan Oktar's name began to appear regularly in the press, sometimes in the headlines. Later that year he published a book titled Judaism and Freemasonry based on conspiracy theories that state offices, universities, political groups and media were influenced by a "hidden group".^[9] Adnan Oktar later qualified those remarks. (see "Conspiracy Theories" below)

Oktar was arrested, charged with promoting a theocratic revolution for which he served 19 months, though he was never formally charged.^[6][7] In 1986, Oktar spent 10 months in a mental hospital, but he complains that he was not mentally ill but a political "prisoner" who was punished because of the publication of his book, Freemasonry and Judaism.^[11][13]

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Oktar built up his community. His followers were especially active recruiting in the summer resorts along the shore of the Sea of Marmara. The social organization within the group become more hierarchical and took on a Messianic nature.^[7] Oktar says that due to the anarchy and terror in those years, he was unable to continue his studies. He had already begun working on his books, so when he left school he devoted his energy to his books.^[14]

In 1990, he founded the Science Research Foundation (SRF, or, in Turkish, Bilim Araştırma Vakfı, or BAV). Oktar founded the Science Research Foundation to hold conferences and seminars for scientific activities "that target mass awareness concerning what the real underlying causes of social and political conflicts are",^[15] which he describes to be materialism and Darwinism, though some media describe the BAV as "a secretive Islamic sect"^[16] and "cult-like organization, that jealously guards the secrets of its considerable wealth".^[17] Members of the BAV are sometimes referred to as Adnan Hocacılar ("Adherents of Adnan the Hodja") by the public^[18]

In 1994 the Islamist Welfare Party (Refah Partisi), the predecessor of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), won control of the municipalities of Istanbul and Ankara. The new mayors (in Istanbul this was Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, now Turkey’s Prime Minister) sought broader support. The journalist and editor Fatih Altayli claimed that Oktar made business agreements with municipalities under the control of the Welfare party. This claim was denied by Oktar, and resulted in libel suits against Fatih Altayli with various results.^[7]

In 1995, Adnan Oktar founded Foundation for Protection of National Values (FPNV or in Turkish Millî Değerleri Koruma Vakfı), through which he networks with other conservative Turkish nationalist organizations and individuals based on the ideology of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey.^[7]

In 1997, after another military intervention, the “bloodless coup” of 1997, the government of Erbakan stepped down and the Welfare Party disbanded. According to the New Humanist, the current AKP government avoids political connections with Oktar and his organization.^[7]

In September 1999 Adnan Oktar was arrested and charged with using threats for personal benefit and creating an organization with the intent to commit a crime (see "Legal issues" below).^[19] After a court case lasting two years the charges were dismissed.

After 11 September 2001 and the WTC attacks, Oktar published a book called Islam Denounces Terrorism. Oktar spoke more of interfaith dialogue, attempting to unify believers of all stripes. Muslims, Christians and Jews should unite against the corrupting influence of Darwinism, which he held responsible for fascism, anti-Semitism and the holocaust.^[7]

Between that time and present, BAV has organized hundreds of conferences on creationism in Turkey^[20][21] and worldwide.^[22][23] He built a large publishing enterprise^[24] with publications sold though Islamic bookstore worldwide.^[25] He is considered "one of the most widely distributed authors in the Muslim world".^[25] His television show is viewed by many in the Arab world.^[26] Adnan Oktar has been preaching about the “Turkish-Islamic Union”, which would bring peace to the entire Muslim world under the leadership of Turkey.^[7]

In 2007 he sent out thousands of unsolicited copies of his Atlas of Creation advocating Islam and creationism to schools and colleges in several European countries and the USA.^[4]

The next year the 1999 case was reopened by another court (see "Legal issues" below). Adnan Oktar was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.^[19] But the verdict was appealed and in May 2010 it was overturned. During these years he engaged in numerous libel suits with various results (See "Legal Issues" below). In some cases he was successful in blocking high-profile websites in Turkey for slander (See "Blocking Internet Sites" below), including that of Richard Dawkins, as well as the complete Wordpress-site.

In 2010, Adnan Oktar was selected as one of the top fifty of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan for his dissemination of creationism in an Islamic context, and other extensively distributed publications on Islamic topics.^[27]

Writings[link]

Oktar has written numerous books under the pen name Harun Yahya. "Harun" refers to the biblical Aaron and "Yahya" refers to the New Testament John the Baptist.

Oktar's books on faith-related topics attempt to communicate the existence and oneness of God (Allah in the Qur'an) according to the Islamic faith, and are written with the main purpose of introducing Islam to those who are strangers to religion. Each of his books on science-related topics stresses his views on the might, sublimity, and majesty of God. These books attempt to display for non-Muslims what Oktar claims to be signs of the existence of God, and the excellence of his creation. A sub-group within this series are the series of "Books Demolishing the Lie of Evolution", a critique of the ideas of materialism, evolution, Darwinism, and atheism.

These publications argue against evolution. They assert that evolution denies the existence of God, abolishes moral values, and promotes materialism and communism.^[28] Oktar argues that Darwinism, by stressing the "survival of the fittest", has inspired racism, Nazism, communism and terrorism. A claim not unexpected in Turkey when during the political turmoil before a 1980 military coup, communist bookshops touted Darwin's works as a complement to Karl Marx.^[29]

Truman State University physicist Taner Edis, who was born in Turkey, says the secret to BAV's success is the huge popularity of the Harun Yahya books. "They're fairly lavishly produced, on good-quality paper with full-color illustrations all over the place," he says. "They're trying to compete with any sort of science publication you can find in the Western world. And in a place like Turkey, Yahya books look considerably better-published than most scientific publications.".^[30] Many of Oktar's books have been made into high-resolution videos which are freely downloadable on the Internet.^[31]

Creationism[link]

The spread of organized Christian creationism to Islam began in the 1980s, when the Muslim minister of education in Turkey turned to the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), a Christian institution then located near San Diego, California, for help in developing twofold curriculum that would teach evolution and creation side by side.

In 1990, the Science Research Foundation (BAV in Turkish) was formed in Istanbul, headed by Oktar.^[32]

Oktar for many years drew on the writings of young earth Christian creationists to develop his case against evolution. However, Islam does not require belief in Young Earth creationism, and making use of the fact that earth may have existed for billions of years, Oktar later produced material which was more similar to Intelligent Design. So similar in fact, that Harun Yahya's website was listed as an 'Islamic intelligent design' website by the Discovery Institute.^[32] However Oktar does not embrace use of the term 'Intelligent Design' due to its lack of specific mention of God, calling it 'another of Satan's snares'.^{[32] [33]}

In early 1998, the BAV launched its first campaign against evolution and Darwinism.^[7] Thousands of free copies of Adnan Oktar's book, The Evolution Deceit, and the booklets based on this book were distributed throughout Turkey.^[34] They regularly ran full-page ads against evolution in daily Turkish newspapers and even ran an ad in the U.S. magazine TIME.^[5] The funding of the campaigns is unknown.^[11] BAV spearheaded an effort to confront Turkish academics who taught evolutionary biology^[35] A number of faculty members were harassed, threatened and slandered in fliers, leading to legal action against BAV (see "Legal Issues" below).

In 2005, Professor Ümit Sayın summed up the effect of the BAV's campaign when he said to The Pitch:^[30]

In 1998, I was able to motivate six members of the Turkish Academy of Sciences to speak out against the creationist movement. Today, it's impossible to motivate anyone. They're afraid they'll be attacked by the radical Islamists and the BAV.

In September 2008 Oktar issued a challenge offering "10 trillion Turkish lira to anyone who produces a single intermediate-form fossil demonstrating evolution". He has claimed, "Not one [fossil] belongs to strange-looking creatures in the course of development of the kind supposed by evolutionists." Dr Kevin Padian at the University of California has criticized the notion that such fossils do not exist, stating that Oktar "does not have any sense of what we know about how things change through time. If he sees a fossil crab, he says, 'It looks just like a regular crab, there's no evolution.'"^[36]

However, the reaction of scientific community is negative and dismissive.

Taner Edis has said "there is nothing new in the Yahya material: scientifically negligible arguments and outright distortions often copied from Christian anti-evolution literature, presented with a conservative Muslim emphasis" concluding it "has no scholarly standing whatsoever".^[37] According to Richard Dawkins, Oktar "doesn't know anything about zoology, doesn't know anything about biology. He knows nothing about what he is attempting to refute".^[11]

In France, scientists spoke out against the book, and American scientists are unimpressed.^[38]

The Atlas of Creation[link]

Cover of the English edition of volume 1 of The Atlas of Creation (Global Publishing, Istanbul, 2006)

Oktar published volume 1 of his Yaratılış Atlası (The Atlas of Creation), with Global Publishing, Istanbul, Turkey in October 2006.^[39] Volumes 2 and 3 followed in 2007. A dedicated website (yaratilisatlasi.com, English atlasofcreation.com) registered to Global Yayıncılık (Global Publishing), Istanbul, went online also in 2007.

At 11 x 17 inches and 12 pounds, with a bright red cover and almost 800 glossy pages, most of them lavishly illustrated, “Atlas of Creation” is according the New York Times "probably the largest and most beautiful creationist challenge yet to Darwin’s theory, which Mr. Yahya calls a feeble and perverted ideology contradicted by the Koran".^[4] Tens of thousands of copies of the book have been delivered, on an unsolicited basis, to schools, prominent researchers and research institutes throughout Europe and the United States.^[4][40]

Biologist Kevin Padian from University of California, Berkeley, said that people who had received copies were “just astounded at its size and production values and equally astonished at what a load of crap it is." adding that "[Oktar] does not really have any sense of what we know about how things change through time.”^[4]

Gerdien de Jong, one of five biologists at Utrecht University who received a copy of the book, has described its reasoning as "absurdly ridiculous".^[41]

Biologist PZ Myers wrote: "The general pattern of the book is repetitious and predictable: the book shows a picture of a fossil and a photo of a living animal, and declares that they haven't changed a bit, therefore evolution is false. Over and over. It gets old fast, and it's usually wrong (they have changed!) and the photography, while lovely, is entirely stolen."^[42]

The Committee on Culture, Science and Education of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe wrote in a report that "None of the arguments in this work are based on any scientific evidence, and the book appears more like a primitive theological treatise than the scientific refutation of the theory of evolution."^[43]

Conspiracy theories[link]

Oktar propagates a number of conspiracy theories, beginning with his 1986 Yahudilik ve Masonluk (Judaism and Freemasonry). The book suggests that the principal mission of Jews and Freemasons in Turkey was to erode the spiritual, religious, and moral values of the Turkish people and, thus, make them like animals, as stated in what Oktar refers to as their use of "Distorted Torah."^[9][44] Oktar asserts that "the materialist standpoint, evolution theory, anti-religious and immoral lifestyles were indoctrinated to the society as a whole" by Jews and Freemasons.^[9]

Oktar's theory of a global conspiracy of Freemasonry is expounded in his book Global Masonluk (English Global Freemasonry) and on his websites Masonluk^[45] and Global Freemasonry.^[46] According to Oktar, Freemasonry is "the main architect of the world system based on materialist philosophy, but which keeps that true identity concealed."^[46] Oktar claims that the theory of evolution is a Masonic conspiracy initiated by the Rosicrucians.

Oktar's recent publications declare Darwinism and Materialism to be conspiracies responsible for anti-semitism and terrorism.^[7][47] In recent publications and interviews (since 2004^[48]), Oktar qualifies his condemnations of Zionism and Freemasonry by adding the word atheist before them, as in atheist Zionists^[49] and atheist Freemasons.^[50]

Holocaust Denial and Affirmation[link]

In 1996, BAV distributed its first book, originally published the previous year, entitled Soykırım Yalanı (The Holocaust Lie).^[51][52] The publication of Soykırım Yalanı sparked much public debate.^[53] This book claims that "what is presented as Holocaust is the death of some Jews due to the typhus plague during the war and the famine towards the end of the war caused by the defeat of the Germans."^[54]

A Turkish painter and intellectual, Bedri Baykam, published a strongly worded critique of the book in the Ankara daily newspaper Siyah-Beyaz ("Black and White"). A legal suit for slander was brought against him. During the trial in September, Baykam exposed the real author of The Holocaust Lie as Adnan Oktar.^[53] The suit was withdrawn in March 1997.^[55][56]

In 2001, the Stephen Roth Institute, of Tel-Aviv University, listed Oktar as a Holocaust denier due to the publication of The Holocaust Lie.^[57]

Three years later the Stephen Roth Institute expressed the opinion that Adnan Oktar had increased his tolerance toward others, asserting that "he now works towards promoting inter-religious dialogue".^[48] calling upon all Muslims to have "a tolerant and friendly attitude toward other religions".^[58]

In 2006, BAV published a book affirming the Holocaust, called The Holocaust Violence. The Holocaust Violence states "The Nazis subjected European Jews to indisputable and unforgivable cruelty during World War II. They humiliated, insulted and degraded millions of Jewish civilians, forcing them from their homes and enslaving them in concentration camps under inhuman conditions... Certainly the Jewish people, of whom 5.5 million died in concentration camps, were the worst victims of the Nazi barbarity."^[59]

In a 2007 interview with The Guardian, Oktar denied writing The Holocaust Lie, a claim that The Guardian stated was "hard to believe."^[60] The next year in an interview with Der Spiegel, Adnan Oktar stated that "The Holocaust Lie," had been written by a member of his organization who had published his own essays using Oktar's pen-name "Harun Yahya", upon his own initiative. Oktar disclaimed the first book, and said the second book reflected his own opinions.^[52]

In 2009, Oktar expressed his views for Jews in his own words, "hatred or anger toward the line of the Prophet Abraham is completely unacceptable. The Prophet Abraham is our ancestor, and the Jews are our brothers. We want the descendants of the Prophet Abraham to live in the easiest, pleasantest and most peaceful manner. We want them to be free to perform their religious obligations, to live as they wish in the lands of their forebears and to frequently remember Allah in comfort and security."^[61] In 2009 and 2010, Oktar published several websites of Jewish interest.^[62][63][64]

Other legal issues[link]

In addition to the slander trial over The Holocaust Lie, Oktar has been involved in other cases. Although most are unrelated to creationism or religion, a BAV spokesperson says Oktar is being persecuted “because of his ideas.” Physicist Taner Edis of Truman State University, who has followed the case closely, says given the political pressures on Turkey’s justice system, that’s “not entirely implausible.”^[65]

In the summer of 1986, Oktar was arrested for his statement "I am from the nation of Abraham and Turkish ethnicity" in a newspaper interview.^[66] According to the New Humanist, Oktar was arrested for promoting a theocratic revolution for which he served 19 months, though he was never formally charged.^[7]

In 1991, Oktar was arrested for possession of cocaine,^[67] which he claimed had been planted in one of the books in his library by the security forces, who, he said, also spiked his food with cocaine.^[68] He was later acquitted.^[67]

A number of faculty members who taught evolution were harassed, threatened and slandered in flyers that labeled them "Maoists". In 1999, six of the professors won a civil court case against the BAV for defamation and were each awarded $4,000.^[30]

In 1999, Oktar was arrested and charged with using threats for personal benefit and creating an organization with the intent to commit a crime.^[19] BAV's lawyers claimed there were several human rights violations during this police operation, as well as the use of violence during the arrest and afterwards.^[69] The judicial process lasted over two years, during which most of the complainants retracted their claims. As a result, cases against Oktar and other BAV members were dismissed.^[35]

The 1999 case was reopened by another court in 2008. The indictment from the prosecutor’s office, made public by Cumhuriyet, claimed blackmail and extortion. Among other things, it claimed that BAV used its female members to attract young scholars from rich families with the promise of sexual favors in exchange for attending events. It was claimed that the sexual activities of thousands of people were videotaped with hidden cameras for the purpose of blackmail. Members who wanted to leave the group were threatened that the tapes would be made public.^[7][70] In the face of all these allegations against BAV, the Chairman of the Court announced in the hearing on 29 February 2008, that testimonies obtained through unlawful means may not be considered as evidence based on article 148 of the criminal code.^[71]

Oktar was convicted of creating an illegal organization for personal gain. He and 17 other members of his organisation were sentenced to three years in prison.^{[19][72][73][74]} Oktar appealed the verdict.^[75][76] In May 2010, the Court of Appeals overturned the conviction and dismissed the charges.^[77]

Blocking of Internet sites[link]

Since 2007 Oktar has successfully had the Turkish government block public access to several websites. In April 2007, Oktar filed a libel lawsuit against the owners of Ekşi Sözlük, a virtual community similar to everything2. The court reviewed the complaint and ordered the service provider to close the site to public access. The site was temporarily suspended so the entry on Oktar could be expunged and locked. Then access to Süper Poligon, a news website, was also restricted following Oktar's complaint.^[78] In August 2007, Oktar got a Turkish court to block WordPress.com in all of Turkey. His lawyers argued that blogs on WordPress.com contained libelous material on Oktar and his colleague, which WordPress.com staff was unwilling to remove.^[79]

In addition, Edip Yuksel, a Turkish writer who knew Oktar in the 1980s and is now critical of him, had his website banned in Turkey from Oktar's complaints.^[67] In addition, Yuksel wrote a Turkish-language book about Oktar called The Cult of the Antichrist, but he has yet to find "a publisher willing to brave Mr. Oktar's lawyers."^[67]

On 19 September 2008, a Turkish court banned Internet users in Turkey from viewing the official Richard Dawkins Web site after Oktar claimed its contents were defamatory, blasphemous and insulting religion, arguing that his personality was violated by this site. The ban was lifted on 8 July 2011.^{[73][80][81][82][83]} Also in September 2008, a complaint by Oktar led to the banning of the internet site of the Union of Education and Scientific Workers (Türk Eğitim Sen).^[84][85] This was followed by a block of the country's third-biggest newspaper site, Vatan, in October.^{[80][82][83][86][87]}

Television broadcasting[link]

On 21 March 2011, Oktar started television broadcasting on A9 satellite channel where his interviews and night lectures are broadcast live.^[88]

Bibliography[link]

A Call For Unity [of Muslims, Christians and Jews]	File:Jesus Second Coming Book.jpg The Signs of Jesus' Second Coming
File:Islam Denounces Terrorism.jpg Islam Denounces Terrorism	File:Wisdom and Sound Advice from the Torah.jpg Wisdom and Sound Advice from the Torah
File:Only Love can Defeat Terrorism.jpg Only Love can Defeat Terrorism	File:Islam Denounces Antisemitism.jpg Islam Denounces Antisemitism

Oktar's books and brochures appear in Turkish with "Vural Yayıncılık" ("Global Publishing"), Istanbul. English translations of Oktar's books appear with "Ta-Ha Publishers", London, UK; "Global Publishing", Istanbul, Turkey; "Al-Attique Publishers", Ontario, Canada and "Goodword Books", New Delhi, India.

Publication media includes: Books, Booklets (Pamphlets), Children's Books, Journals, Documentaries, Audio Books, CD's, Posters and over a hundred websites. The total number of books and brochures published by Oktar number in the hundreds.^[89] The works are lavishly produced, on good-quality paper with full-color illustrations^[30] and sold in Islamic bookstores worldwide.^[25]

• Yahya, Harun (1986). Yahudilik ve Masonluk (Judaism and Freemasonry). ISBN 9757043001. 
• Yahya, Harun (1995). Soykırım Yalanı (The Holocaust Lie). ISBN 9757856258. 
• Yahya, Harun (2000). Allah Is Known through Reason. New Delhi: Goodword Books. ISBN 8187570059. 
• Yahya, Harun (2000). Miracle in the Ant. ISBN 1842000152. 
• Yahya, Harun (2000). Allah Is Known through Reason. New Delhi: Goodword Books. ISBN 8187570059. 
• Yahya, Harun (2000). Allah's Artistry in Colour. Goodword Books. ISBN 1842000160. 
• Yahya, Hârun (2000). The Creation of the Universe. Al-Attique. ISBN 189426438X. 
• Yahya, Harun (2001). The Evolution Deceit. London: Ta-Ha. ISBN 9756579382. 
• Yahya, Harun; Clarke, Abdassamad (2001). The Miracle in the Atom. Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd. ISBN 1842000233. 
• Yahya, Harun (2001). Disasters Darwinism Brought to Humanity. Al-Attique. ISBN 1894264444. 
• Yahya, Harun (2002). Global Freemasonry. Global Publishing. ISBN 9756426004. 
• Yahya, Harun (2002). The Glory in the Heavens. ISBN 1842000403. 
• Yahya, Harun (2002). The Design in Nature. Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd. ISBN 1842000357. 
• Yahya, Harun (2002). The Alliance of the Good. Islamic Book Service. ISBN 8172313721. 
• Yahya, Harun (2002). The World of Animals (Children, Have You Ever Thought?). ISBN 184200042X. 
• Yahya, Harun (2002). Before You Regret. Al-Attique Publishers Inc. ISBN 189426441X. 
• Yahya, Harun (2002). Fascism The Bloody Ideology of Darwinism. ISBN 983938435X. 
• Yahya, Harun (2002). Islam Denounces Terrorism. Elmhurst: Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an. ISBN 1879402971. 
• Yahya, Harun (2002). Romanticism: A Weapon of Satan. ISBN 8188273201. 
• Yahya, Harun (2003). Wonderful Creatures. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. ISBN 1842000470. 
• Yahya, Harun (2003). 24 Hours in the Life of a Muslim. ISBN 1842000543. 
• Yahya, Harun (2003). The Courage Of The Faithful. ISBN 9756426624. 
• Author, Author (2003). A Definitive Reply to Evolutionist Propaganda. Global Publishing. ISBN 9756426241. 
• Yahya, Harun (2003). The Errors of The American National Academy of Science. 
• Yahya, Harun (2003). Why Darwinism Is Incompatible with the Quran. Global Publishing. ISBN 9756426039. 
• Yahya, Harun (2004). Signs of the Last Day. Global Publishing. ISBN 9756426020. 
• Yahya, Harun (2004). The Muslim Way of Speaking. ISBN 9756426438. 
• Yahya, Harun (2004). Passivity in Religion. ISBN 9756426640. 
• Yahya, Harun (2004). The Signs Of Jesus' Second Coming. ISBN 9756426497. 
• Yahya, Harun (2004). Answers from the Quran: For Newcomers to Islam. ISBN 8172315627. 
• Yahya, Harun (2004). Communist China's Policy of Oppression in East Turkestan. Global Publishing. ISBN 9756426446. 
• Yahya, Harun (2006). Atlas Of Creation (Volume 1). 
• Yahya, Harun (2007). Biomimetics: Technology Imitates Nature. ISBN 9756426772. 
• Yahya, Harun (2007). Miracle in the Eye. ISBN 9756426721. 
• Yahya, Harun (2007). Allahs Miracles in the Quran. Goodword Publication. ISBN 8178985381. 
• Yahya, Harun (2007). Atlas of Creation Volume 2. 
• Yahya, Harun (2007). Atlas of Creation Volume 3. 
• Yahya, Harun (2007). Consciousness in the Cell. ISBN 9756426713. 
• Yahya, Harun (2007). Global Impact of the Works of Harun Yahya. ISBN 9758718320. 
• Yahya, Harun (2001). Miracles of the Qur'an. Al-Attique Publishers Inc. ISBN 1894264533. 

References[link]